Videoconferencing tools have become the backbone of the digital world. These tools enable people to conduct meetings, attend classes, and socialize. Today, Google Meet and Zoom are two of the most popular video conferencing tools.
They are both used by workplaces and classrooms around the world. They enable businesses, classmates, and friends to interact, conduct meetings, and provide educational lessons. They also integrate with other apps and platforms to provide more functionality.
As they are direct competitors, no wonder people get confused. However, Google Meet and Zoom do have key differences.
Let’s take a closer look at Google Meet vs Zoom so you could decide on which one is a better fit.
Google Meet Vs Zoom: Overview
Google Meet
Who can use Google Meet?
Anyone with a Google account can create or join a Google Meet meeting.
They need to go to the Google Meet website and sign in with their Google account. Then they can start a video call or schedule one with Google Calendar.
They can send the URL of the meeting to the participants. The participants can join the meeting after signing in to their Google account.
How long are the Google Meet meetings and how many participants can join?
For the free version, the Google Meet meetings last 60 minutes and up to 100 participants can join. Google Meet has premium offers that allow unlimited time and more participants.
What features does Google Meet offer?
Over the last year, Google Meet has made huge improvements and added more features to compete with Zoom. Features include:
- allows users to share screen
- change the layout
- mute participants
- share documents in the chat area
- take polls
- view a gallery layout
- use video filters
- change the video background, and more
Who should use Google Meet?
Google Meet is perfect for those who want a simple, straightforward way to have a private meeting. It is great for a team member meeting between about 10 colleagues.
Zoom
Who can use Zoom?
Anyone can sign up for a Zoom account to have a consistent Zoom meeting ID and start a meeting.
They can schedule meetings and send out a link and the meeting ID and password to invitees. Participants can join from the link or enter the ID and password without having an account.
How long are Zoom meetings and how many participants can join?
Free accounts allow 100 participants and the meeting lasts for 40 minutes. There are premium plans that allow meetings to have more participants and no time limits.
What features does Zoom offer?
Zoom has an edge over Google Meet because it is a dedicated platform for video conferencing. But Google has many other apps for customers’ attention.
The developers of Zoom are focused on creating a better platform for all sorts of uses.
Some features include:
- cloud-based platform
- chatbox
- breakout rooms
- phone system
- interpreter options
- integrations with third parties, like our WordPress booking plugin, for example.
Who should use Zoom?
Zoom is mostly used for virtual meetings and webinars. It is great for large meetings, public seminars, and uses that need manageable options.
Google Meet vs Zoom: Availability
Google Meet
Google Meet works on the web and anyone can join a meeting with the link whether they have the app or not. It is available on Android and iOS mobile devices.
Google Meet is accessible through Chrome and other browsers without needing plugins. Users can host a meeting by going to meet.google.com.
Participants can join a meeting by clicking on or copy and pasting the link into a browser.
Zoom
Zoom also works on the web or with the app, but the app produces the best results. It is available on Android and iOS mobile devices as well.
Anyone can join a meeting through the link without needing an account.
Users cannot start a Zoom meeting from the browser. They need to have the app to start a meeting.
If users want to have the same meeting ID for every meeting they start they need to sign up for an account.
Users can schedule a meeting in the Zoom app. There also are plugins for Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox to schedule a meeting.
Google Meet Vs Zoom: Features
Both Google Meet and Zoom offer a host of functions to manage virtual events of any size.
At first, the features listed below were only found on Zoom. But Google Meet has been improving its platform to offer similar features to Zoom.
Zoom offers every feature that Google Meet offers but at a better quality. Zoom also surpasses Google Meet in what they offer to free account holders.
Features they both offer:
- call encryption
- support for up to 720p HD video
- screen sharing
- whiteboard feature
- hand raising feature
- audio/video preview screen
- meeting host controls
- cross-platform compatibility
- seamless integration with Microsoft Office and Google
Google Meet Vs Zoom: Interface
Zoom
Many people appreciate the Gallery View that Zoom offers. With this layout, participants can see 25 people on one screen.
Other layouts that Zoom offers include:
- Active Speaker View. This layout switches between the speakers when there are 3 or more participants in the meeting
- Spotlight View. This view spotlights one participant to fill the whole screen
- Gallery View. Displays thumbnail videos of each participant in a grid layout. This layout shows 25 people on one screen.
Users can change their settings to show 49 people on one screen
- Floating Thumbnail View
- Custom Gallery View. This option allows users to drag and organize the thumbnails into a customized view. Only the participant will see their customized organization.
However, the host can customize his view and broadcast it to all the participants
Zoom includes features that allow users to change their appearance or background. They can also adjust for low lighting.
Google Meet
Google Meet mimicked the Gallery View of Zoom by offering a layout of 16 participants on one screen. They also offer:
- Auto view. The platform chooses the layout automatically
- Sidebar view. The active speaker or a presentation displays on a large window
- Spotlight view. A pinned feed, active speaker, or presentation fills the entire screen
- Tiled view. Shows sixteen participants on the screen when no one is presenting
Google Meet added a low light mode to adjust lighting as needed.
Google Meet Vs Zoom: Captions and Recordings
Google Meet
Captions:
Google Meet offers a feature of real-time captions. This makes it easier to understand what is being said if the audio on a video call becomes distorted.
It is also a wonderful tool for those who are hard of hearing, have a disability, or are not native English speakers. This resource is only available in English.
Recordings:
Google Meet does not allow free account holders to record meetings. Users need to pay for the G Suite Enterprise or the G Suite Enterprise for Education to record meetings.
Zoom
Captions:
With the help of third-party integrations, Zoom users can have closed captions.
Recordings:
Zoom allows users to record even using the free version. They can record meetings in MP4 format for video and MP3 format for audio.
Free account holders can only save recorded meetings locally on their computer. Paid accounts can record meetings to the cloud from a computer or a mobile device.
Google Meet Vs Zoom: Prices
Both Google Meet and Zoom offer various monthly pricing plans with different features. Each platform has a free version with limitations.
Google Meet
The free version of Google Meet was not available at first. But now they offer free access to a limited version of Google Meet.
The free version allows 100 participants for a 60-minute meeting.
To get more features, users need to pay for Google Meet as part of Google Workspace, previously G Suite. The starter plan costs $6 per month.
Google Workspace comes with other cloud services such as:
- Gmail
- Calendar
- Drive
- Docs
- Sheets, and more
Google Meet also offers solutions to provide virtual education. For more information on their education solutions, look up “Google Workspace for education” or click here.
Zoom
The basic version of Zoom is free. It allows a maximum of 100 participants to meet for 40 minutes.
The Zoom Pro Plan costs $14.99 per month per host. It offers social media streaming and 1 GB of cloud recording.
The Business Plan costs $19.99 per month. It offers advanced administrative features such as:
- Transcript recording
- Managed domains
- Company branding
The Enterprise Plan costs $240 per year. It offers unlimited cloud storage.
Zoom also has education-based solutions. The Education Plan costs $150 per month.
It allows unlimited meetings with up to 300 participants. The Education Plan is available for a minimum of 20 hosts and a maximum of 149 hosts.
Google Meet Vs Zoom: Security
Zoom
Zoom was created to be a conferencing tool for companies and organizations. So it did not have the security tools for public meetings like social media platforms have.
At the beginning of the pandemic, there were many reported instances of “Zoombombings”. This is when people would disrupt Zoom meetings with offensive content.
Zoom has implemented several new security measures. They have made considerable efforts to prevent Zoombombing from happening in the future.
Google Meet
Google Meet has not reported any instances of breaches. They have a high level of encryption to keep their meeting place a safe space.
Google Meet Vs. Zoom: The VerdictÂ
Google Meet and Zoom are video conferencing tools that offer very similar features. But one platform might suit your needs better than the other.
Factors that affect your decision include the size of the meeting and what applications you want to integrate.
Use Google Meet:
Use Google Meet if using the Google Workspace tools. It is also great for more intimate video chats.
Use Zoom:
Use Zoom for a more robust video conferencing experience. It is better for larger meetings and to collaborate with corporate clients.
Zoom aims to provide a great video conferencing experience. This means it has a larger quantity of and more powerful features.
However, Google Meet is able to compete by continuously updating its service. In this way, it provides more options to its clients.
Google Meet and Zoom are great video conferencing tools. They have played a large role in professional and personal lives during the pandemic.
They will continue to play a large role in the future. This article compared Google Meet vs Zoom to help you decide which is the best platform for your needs.
If you enjoyed reading this article on Google Meet vs Zoom, you should check out this one about how to record a Zoom meeting.
We also wrote about a few related subjects like how to change your background on Zoom Zoom integrations, Zoom keyboard shortcuts, create a Zoom meeting, how does Zoom work, Zoom waiting room, how to add Zoom to Google Calendar and how to schedule a Zoom meeting.
